JUSTICE

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many victims of crime had their award under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme reduced because of failure to co-operate with police in bringing an assailant to justice in each year since 2009-10.

Helen Grant: The relevant figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of reduced awards 
			 2009-10 207 
			 2010-11 210 
			 2011-12 143

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many victims of crime had their award under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme reduced because of failure to report to the police or other appropriate body or person in each year since 2009-10.

Helen Grant: The relevant figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of reduced awards 
			 2009-10 1 
			 2010-11 1 
			 2011-12 0 
		
	
	Such awards are so rare because there is unlikely to be any independent evidence about the incident giving rise to a claim if the applicant did not report it to anyone. These two cases therefore represent very unusual circumstances.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many witnesses of crime received compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in each year since 2009-10.

Helen Grant: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority only holds information at that level of detail within individual files, not in their main database. The information requested could be obtained only by a member of staff manually sifting through around 100,000 files at a disproportionate cost.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many dependants of fatally injured victims received a payment as compensation for loss of parental services in each year since 2009-10.

Helen Grant: The relevant figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of awards for loss of parental services 
			 2009-10 254 
			 2010-11 260 
			 2011-12 209

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated repair and maintenance cost is for each publicly operated prison in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The capital and resource maintenance expenditure for public sector prisons in 2011-12 funded by the Ministry of Justice centrally and by the National Offender Management Service Agency at regional and local level is set out in the following table. Some of the regional expenditure data cannot be disaggregated to each individual prison without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Costs include expenditure on building, plant and equipment maintenance and materials, hire of plant and machinery, related fees and professional services (such as consultancy fees, escort costs) and value added tax, where applicable.
	
		
			 Capital and resource maintenance expenditure for public sector prisons in 2011-12 
			 Prison Total 
			 Askham Grange 50,055 
			 Aylesbury 2,037,050 
			 Bedford 165,281 
			 Belmarsh 3,002,164 
			 Birmingham 11,309 
			 Blantyre House 20,454 
			 Blundeston 1,939,363 
			 Brinsford 68,710 
			 Bristol 2,527,029 
			 Brixton 3,744,732 
			 Buckley Hall 558,112 
			 Bullingdon 127,095 
			 Bullwood Hall 32,362 
			 Bure 282,978 
			 Canterbury 48,034 
			 Cardiff 2,963,267 
			 Channings Wood 523,032 
			 Chelmsford 120,044 
			 Coldingley 1,075,156 
			 Cookham Wood 154,811 
			 Dartmoor 399,258 
			 Deerbolt 389,611 
			 Dorchester 233,955 
			 Downview 979,164 
			 Drake Hall 37,076 
			 Durham 1,202,412 
			 East Sutton Park 1,312,033 
			 Eastwood Park 261,352 
			 Erlestoke 4,096,390 
			 Everthorpe 172,510 
			 Exeter 352,059 
			 Featherstone 2,168,780 
			 Feltham 2,885,774 
			 Ford 9,375,963 
			 Foston Hall 20,507 
		
	
	
		
			 Frankland 1,777,341 
			 Full Sutton 5,739,681 
			 Garth 511,229 
			 Gartree 39,791 
			 Glen Parva 7,950 
			 Gloucester 250,923 
			 Grendon/Springhill 261,703 
			 Guys Marsh 2,313,257 
			 Haverigg 599,477 
			 Hewell 43,914 
			 High Down 1,695,753 
			 Highpoint 971,429 
			 Hindley 1,520,980 
			 Hollesley Bay 652,192 
			 Holloway 447,436 
			 Holme House 925,850 
			 Hull 191,771 
			 Huntercombe 40,579 
			 Isis 1,203,351 
			 Isle of Wight 4,020,905 
			 Kennet 264,608 
			 Kingston 464,171 
			 Kirkham 375,799 
			 Kirklevington Grange 92,838 
			 Lancaster 297,807 
			 Latchmere House 79,938 
			 Leeds 10,369,094 
			 Leicester 35,234 
			 Lewes 5,523,650 
			 Leyhill 803,311 
			 Lincoln 3,436,643 
			 Lindholme 521,440 
			 Littlehey 1,023,923 
			 Liverpool 5,319,304 
			 Long Lartin 1,686,170 
			 Low Newton 427,345 
			 Maidstone 1,438,313 
			 Manchester 3,991,528 
			 Moorland/Hatfield 2,828,133 
			 Morton Hall(1) 128,304 
			 Mount (The) 69,258 
			 New Hall 197,880 
			 North Sea Camp 337,605 
			 Northallerton 58,004 
			 Northumberland 5,869,757 
			 Norwich 306,604 
			 Nottingham 97,195 
			 Onley 403,281 
			 Pentonville 6,961,229 
			 Portland 1,058,560 
			 Preston 511,534 
			 Ranby 137,447 
			 Reading 252,344 
			 Risley 462,739 
			 Rochester 1,195,498 
			 Send 314,867 
			 Sheppey Clustered Services 4,433,734 
			 Shrewsbury 666,666 
			 Stafford 2,612,429 
			 Stocken 9,355,117 
			 Stoke Heath 177,784 
			 Styal 277,113 
			 Sudbury 11,168 
			 Swansea 42,555 
		
	
	
		
			 Swinfen Hall 42,719 
			 Thorn Cross 188,562 
			 Usk/Prescoed 902,414 
			 Verne 1,405,706 
			 Wakefield 5,615,783 
			 Wandsworth 2,203,023 
			 Warren Hill 554,597 
			 Wayland 12,997 
			 Wealstun 262,736 
			 Wellingborough 21,565 
			 Werrington 338,082 
			 Wetherby 562,033 
			 Whatton 15,122 
			 Whitemoor 1,005,998 
			 Winchester 266,742 
			 Woodhill 646,033 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 4,981,926 
			 Wymott 506,223 
			 Regional level(2) 23,151,744 
			 Total(3) 184,155,324 
			 (1 )Reopened as an immigration removal centre in June 2011. (2) Some individual prison expenditure has been clustered at a regional level and could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost. (3) As with any large scale recording system, it is possible that errors in data entry and processing may have been made at account code level.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time was for the Tribunals Service to administer a first-tier tribunal social security and child support appeal in respect of (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) tax credits in Coventry in each of the last four quarters.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to social security and child support are heard by the first-tier tribunal—Social Security and Child Support, administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	The following table shows the average time taken from receipt of an appeal to disposal by the tribunal in respect of (a) disability living allowance, (b)employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) tax credits in the Coventry hearing venue for each of the last four quarters to June 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available).
	
		
			 Appeal times (in weeks from receipt to disposal in Coventry) 
			  July to September 2011 October to December 2011 January to March 2012 April to June 2012 
			 Disability living allowance 41.4 54.7 49.7 41.8 
			 Employment and support allowance 36.3 39.7 46.8 37.8 
			 Income support 32.9 25.3 19 (1)35.1 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 10.1 25 17.6 11 
			 Tax credits 18.7 22 21.3 26.3 
			 (1) The low volume of income support appeals (31) meant that a single case outside the normal waiting time influenced the overall figure. Note: The data are taken from management information. 
		
	
	HMCTS has continued to respond strongly to the significant increase in the number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal. Two additional hearing rooms in Leamington Spa and Nuneaton will be used from November 2012 to hear certain appeals which would currently be heard at the Coventry venue. This will reduce the number of appeals waiting to be heard al Coventry and, therefore, help bring down the average waiting time for an appeal hearing. Other work to increase the tribunal's capacity is also under way. This includes identifying further suitable hearing venues in Coventry, the recruitment of additional fee-paid judges and medical members, increased administrative resource, and work to reallocate hearings to alternative nearby venues to ensure appeals are dealt with as quickly as possible.
	HMCTS is also working hard at a national level to increase the capacity of the SSCS tribunal and reduce waiting times. It has implemented a range of measures which include recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources and streamlining processes; securing additional hearing venues across the country; increasing the number of cases listed in each tribunal session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; running Saturday sittings in some of the busiest venues; and establishing a customer contact centre to deal with telephone inquiries.
	All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 380,000 in 2010-11, and 433,600 appeals in 2011-12, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012-13. The tribunal disposed of more appeals than it received in every month between January 2011 and February 2012 (14 consecutive months) and the outstanding caseload within the tribunals fell by 25% in 2011-12 to reach 145,000 on 31 March 2012. The average waiting time has stabilised nationally, and has fallen across many venues.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Hastings

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of people who have (a) taken up apprenticeships and (b) successfully completed apprenticeships in (i) Hastings and (ii) Hastings and Rye constituency in each year since May 2010.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts and achievements in Hastings and Rye constituency, East Sussex local education authority, and England. The academic year 2010/11 (August 2010 to July 2011) is based on final data; 2011/12 (August 2011 to July 2012) is based on provisional data.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. It is therefore not possible to directly compare them with final-year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	We publish apprenticeship starts and achievements at regional, local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels of geography.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts and achievements by geography, 2010/11 to 2011/12(1) 
			  Starts Achievements 
			  2010/11 2011/12 2010/11 2011/12 
			 Hastings and Rye constituency 980 840 310 450 
			 East Sussex local education authority 3,910 3,770 1,510 1,900 
			 England total 457,200 502,500 200,300 233,700 
			 (1 )Provisional. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except England totals, which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record. 
		
	
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statistical firstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary _tables/

Basic Skills

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department has spent on reducing adult (a) illiteracy and (b) innumeracy in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Further education colleges and providers have a single Adult Skills Budget providing them with the flexibility to respond to local learner and employer needs. There are no separate budgets for adult literacy or numeracy provision.
	The following table shows the Skills Funding Agency's estimate of Government funding made available for adult literacy and numeracy provision (including provision delivered through apprenticeship frameworks, functional skills, GCSE and Adult Basic Skills provision) for learners aged 19+ in the 2007/08 to 2011/12 academic years. The figures are calculated using information submitted by providers via the Individualised Learning Record (ILR). Data for 2011/12 are based on provisional year end data so are subject to change.
	Overall participation on English and maths courses has increased each year since 2009/10 (data for 2011/12 are provisional and subject to change).
	
		
			 Estimated expenditure on adult literacy and numeracy provision, 2007/08 to 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 £ million 
			  2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			  Final Final Final Final Provisional 
			 Literacy 226 239 227 176 190 
			 Numeracy 152 192 183 165 180 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest £1 million. Source: Skills Funding Agency estimates based on Individualised Learner Record

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if his Department will offer assistance to firms engaged in the manufacturing and production of replica furniture if they suffer economic disadvantage as a result of the proposed changes to section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 25 October 2012
	There are no such plans.

Mature Students: Parents

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what financial support his Department provides for mature university students with children.

David Willetts: Mature students attending full-time first degree courses are eligible for the same financial support as other students for their tuition and living costs including a non-means tested tuition fee loan. Students attending full-time courses can also apply for maintenance grants and loans for living costs. Extra financial support through child care grants and parents learning allowance is available to full-time HE students with children. These grants are paid in addition to the standard support package. These grants are income assessed and do not have to be repaid.

Motor Sports

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote energy efficient motorsport.

Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is taking no specific steps to promote energy efficient motorsport. However, various motorsport companies are involved in research and development (R and D) projects supported through the Technology Strategy Board's Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform (LCVIP). BIS, with the TSB and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, has invested over £150 million in more than 100 major automotive R and D and validation projects under the LCVIP. On 5 September, I announced five new projects under the Niche Vehicle R and D Programme, which includes one on light weighting that may have applications to motorsport.

Post Offices: Scotland

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the provision of Scottish Government services at post offices in Scotland;
	(2)  whether he plans to expand the range of Government services available at post offices in Scotland;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the provision of local government services at post offices in Scotland.

Jo Swinson: The hon. Member will be interested to note that during 2011/12, Post Office Ltd's revenue from Government services grew for the first time in many years. This shows that Post Office Ltd, which operates commercially at arm's length from Government, is making progress in realising its ambition to provide more services for central and local Government nationally, including in Scotland.
	The Government supports Post Office Ltd in this ambition. It is ultimately a decision for the Scottish Government, its agencies, and Scottish local authorities to determine how particular services will be delivered. Post Office Ltd is currently engaging with a range of public bodies in Scotland with a view to broadening the range of services it offers on their behalf.
	My predecessor held discussions with the Scottish Government Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, representatives from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Secretary of State for Scotland, and senior representatives from Post Office Ltd and the National Federation of Sub Postmasters earlier this year.

CABINET OFFICE

Charities

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many faith-based organisations have had their charitable status revoked by reason of the removal of presumption of public benefit by the Charities Act 2006.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the Commission's chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger, dated 23 October 2012
	.
	No faith-based organisations have had their charitable status revoked by reason of the removal of presumption of public benefit by the Charities Act 2006.
	The Charity Commission is the regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales. Charities in Northern Ireland and Scotland are regulated by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator respectively.

Civil Servants: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants are employed by UK Government Departments and their agencies in Scotland.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many Civil Servants are employed by UK Government departments and their agencies in Scotland. (125065)
	Data are collected on the number of Civil Servants on an annual basis, with 31 March as the reference date. The workplace postcode area is used to derive the geographical information.
	The latest available data are for March 2012, and shows employment of 46,260 in UK Government departments and their agencies in Scotland. Of this, 16,270 are in the Scottish Government.

Drugs: Crime

Amber Rudd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many drug-related offences there were in (a) Hastings and Rye constituency, (b) East Sussex and (c) the UK in 2011.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for estimates on the number of drug related offences in (a) Hastings and Rye constituency; (b) East Sussex and (c) the UK in 2011. (124777)
	Figures for drug related offences are available based on the number of crimes recorded by the police in the drug offences category. The Crime Survey for England and Wales does not provide estimates of drug-related offences.
	Police recorded crime data are not available at parliamentary constituency level so figures for Hastings local authority area are given in place of Hastings and Rye constituency. Crime statistics produced by the ONS cover England and Wales only. Crime figures for Scotland are published at
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice
	and data for Northern Ireland are published at
	http://www.psni.police.uk/index/updates/updates_statistics/update_crime_statistics.htm
	In Hastings local authority area there were 430 drug offences recorded by the police during 2011. In East Sussex there were 1,436 drug offences recorded by the police during 2011, and in England and Wales there were 232,834 drug offences recorded by the police during 2011.
	Local authority figures can be found on
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/year-ending-december-2011/stb-crime-stats-dec-2011.html

Internet: Devon

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will estimate the number of (a) people and (b) households in (i) Devon and (ii) Newton Abbot constituency who do not use the internet.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what estimate has been made of the number of (a) people and (b) households in (i) Devon and (ii) Newton Abbot Constituency who do not use the Internet (125360).
	Estimates of Internet use by adults aged 16 years and over are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics and are available on the Office for National Statistics website. These estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and have coverage of the United Kingdom (UK). The latest available estimate (in respect of 2012 Q2) of the number of adults who have never used the Internet in Devon is 137,000. The estimate for Devon County Council is 89,000. Estimates at parliamentary constituency level are not available.
	Estimates of household Internet access are published on an annual basis by the Office for National Statistics and are also available on the Office for National Statistics website. These estimates are derived from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey. Estimates are available by region, but for Great Britain only. The latest available estimate (in respect of 2012) of the number of households in the South West without Internet Access is 462,000. It is not possible, from this survey, to produce accurate estimates of household Internet access at a lower level of geographical detail than region.

Older Workers: Devon

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of people over 65 in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency in the working population in each of the last 15 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what recent estimate he has made of the number of people over 65 in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency in the working population in each of the last 15 years.(125151).
	The ONS compiles local area labour market statistics from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey (ALALFS), following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	However, due to small sample sizes, estimates for the number of people aged 65 and over in employment in Newton Abbot Constituency, are not available.
	The table shows the number of people aged 65 and over resident in Devon who were employed at the time of interview during:
	the 12 month period ending February, from 1998 to 2004 from the ALALFS; and
	the 12 month period ending December, for 2004 to 2011 from the APS; and
	the latest available period
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	These figures along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are also published on the Office for National Statistics' Nomis website:
	www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Number of people aged 65 and over in employment in Devon(1) 
			 12 months ending: Number (thousand) 
			 February 1998 5 
			 February 1999 6 
			 February 2000 9 
			 February 2001 11 
			 February 2002 9 
			 February 2003 8 
			 February 2004 10 
			 December 2004 13 
			 December 2005 10 
			 December 2006 11 
			 December 2007 11 
			 December 2008 11 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2009 12 
			 December 2010 15 
			 December 2011 20 
			 June 2012(2) ***19 
			 (1) Devon is defined as the administrative county: E10000008 Devon. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality following. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey; Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Utilities: Tenants

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what rules govern the ending of a broker contract with utility companies when a tenant who signed the contract with them vacates the premises.

Gregory Barker: The terms and conditions agreed in a supply contract are a matter between the customer and the supplier. Domestic and micro business customers may pursue a breach of contractual obligations through the energy ombudsman. Larger business customers can pursue the matter through the courts.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Coventry

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Coventry and (b) Coventry North East constituency have received assistance from the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

Gregory Barker: The Warm Home Discount Scheme was launched on 1 April 2011 and covers Great Britain. It runs from April 2011 to end March 2015.
	Regional or constituency breakdowns for the data are not available; however, across Great Britain, in 2011-12, a total of £237.5 million of direct and indirect support was provided by the participating energy supply companies to over 2.1 million people.
	A breakdown of how this was allocated across the different elements of the scheme can be found in the 2011-12 Annual Report published by Ofgem. This is available at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/WHDS/Documents1/WHD_AR_08_Oct_2012.pdf

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cleaning Services

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to require all cleaning contracts held with her Department to stipulate that the cleaning products used and their ingredients should not have been tested on animals.

Hugh Robertson: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not hold any direct cleaning contracts. However, our facilities management provider does have an ethical and environmental policy, which addresses the types and nature of cleaning products to be used on DCMS sites.

Entertainments: Tickets

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to (a) regulate the concert ticket resale market and (b) restrict concert ticket resale.

Hugh Robertson: The Government have no plans to regulate the ticketing market. We will, however, continue to monitor this area, and if new evidence comes forward of severe market failures that need addressing we will review this position.

Olympic Games 2012

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the effect of the Olympic legacy on suppliers to the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: £8 billion of games-related contracts have been awarded to UK companies—£7 billion from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and £l billion from the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG). More than 2,000 companies have won direct contracts as a result, with nearly a third of contracts being won by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
	The report “London 2012—a global showcase for UK PLC”, produced by Sir John Armitt for the Department, in advance of the games in July 2012, examined the impact of the games on firms who worked on contracts for both the ODA and LOCOG. The research shows some positive results in relation to the potential role of the games in supporting the longer-term competitiveness of UK businesses. The key findings of the research, which were based on a survey of 276 companies, are as follows:
	68% of companies said working on London 2012 has enhanced their reputation, rising to 77% for larger companies;
	almost a third of companies have already secured further work as a result of their experience with London 2012;
	almost three-quarters of companies anticipated future business opportunities as a result of their involvement in the games.
	Through the London 2012 Business Network and CompeteFor, thousands of UK businesses have been helped to apply for games-related contracts, and as a result are now able to compete for public sector procurement opportunities. In addition, suppliers are already winning work on future Olympic and Paralympic Games, other sporting events and regeneration projects. UK Trade and Investment are working to showcase UK expertise in delivering the Olympic project to other hosting nations where there are significant opportunities in their supply chains.

Olympic Games 2012

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the economic effect that the No Marketing Rights Protocol had on small and medium-sized enterprises who were involved in supplying the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will ask the (a) London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and (b) British Olympic Association to lift the No Marketing Rights Protocol from the British businesses who helped to supply and produce the London 2012 Olympic Games; and if she will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: Suppliers to London 2012 have been paid the full commercial rate for their goods and services. £8 billion of games-related contracts have been awarded to UK companies by the Olympic Delivery Authority and the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), with nearly a third of contracts being won by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The responsibility to enforce the current marketing restrictions and protect the rights of games sponsors rests with LOCOG. This will transfer to the British Olympic Association (BOA) and British Paralympic Association in January 2013.
	On 1 May, I tabled a parliamentary written statement setting out what businesses could do now to promote their association with London 2012, which can be found at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120501/wmstext/120501m0001. htm#12050147000058
	Government are continuing to work with the BOA and the International Olympic Committee to develop a framework that would allow suppliers freedom to promote the work they undertook, balanced with the ability for sponsors to protect their rights of association with the games. I will continue to monitor this to ensure British businesses can benefit as much as possible from their involvement in the games.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness amongst armed forces personnel of the need to report incidents of rape or sexual assault; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on posters, leaflets and advertisements and other information campaigns to alert serving members of the armed forces on how to report sexual assault and rape in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Although the Ministry of Defence has not specifically taken action to raise awareness of the need to report an incident of rape or sexual assault, each of the single services has their own service code. All of these codes set out the values and standards expected from service personnel and both the Army and the RAF codes specifically mention sexual harassment.
	Although as far as the victim is concerned, a decision on whether to report such an incident is a choice for the individual to make, there is a general duty on service personnel to report incidents where they suspect another service person of committing an offence. All allegations of rape and sexual assault made by members of the armed forces will be thoroughly investigated by either the civil or service police, depending upon who has jurisdiction.
	There are no posters, leaflets, advertisements or information campaigns which advise serving members of the armed forces on how to report a rape or sexual assault. However, both the Navy and the Army launched relevant poster campaigns in 2012. The Navy campaign raises awareness among naval personnel about placing themselves at risk of rape or sexual assault. The Army campaign focuses on making Army personnel aware of how certain actions could be seen as a form of sexual assault. The total cost of these campaigns has not been recorded.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has commissioned any monitoring of rape and sexual assault in the armed forces since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: All of the service police forces conduct annual analyses of crimes and incidents. In addition, the Service Police Crime Bureau became the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (VISOR) focal point in 2006, and is responsible for monitoring the very small number of sex offenders who, post conviction, are subject to notification requirements and are currently serving overseas. Responsibility for monitoring such personnel when they are based in the UK rests with the civilian police.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what support he makes available to historic victims of sexual abuse in the armed forces in order that their allegation can be investigated;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to identify historic incidences of rape and sexual abuse within the armed forces.

Mark Francois: Support to victims of crime, including rape and sexual assault, are outlined in Joint Service Publication 839 Code of Practice on services to be provided by the armed forces to victims of crime. A victim who has left the armed forces can still report the allegation to the military police, but, the jurisdiction for investigating it will depend on whether the alleged offender is serving or a civilian. If they are serving, jurisdiction would normally fall to the military police. Where the alleged offender is a civilian, jurisdiction would normally fall to the civil police because the offender is outside the remit of service law.
	There is no specific action taken to track historic cases. The armed forces track and monitor all allegations of sexual offences including rape and sexual assault where the offender is alleged to be serving. Involvement is maintained even if the alleged offender has left the armed forces by the time the case concludes. The military police do not however track cases where the victim is serving in the armed forces but the alleged offender is a civilian.

Service Prosecuting Authority

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has conducted an evaluation of the performance of the Service Prosecuting Authority in relation to the investigation and prosecution in cases of rape or sexual assault; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) and its Director are under the jurisdiction of the Attorney-General and operate independently of the Ministry of Defence.
	The SPA was subject to an independent report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Crown Prosecution Service in December 2010. That report details the achievements of SPA and also made a number of recommendations. All of these recommendations have now been addressed and recent cases have demonstrated considerable success in terms of the prosecution. The SPA will continue to give particular attention to these types of cases.
	A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House.

SCOTLAND

Armed Forces

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Defence the provision of healthcare and housing for members of the armed forces based in Scotland who are returning from active service overseas.

David Mundell: I am due to meet with the Minister of State responsible for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), next week, along with the Scottish Government Veterans Minister.
	While Defence is a reserved matter the devolved Administrations have an important role to play in the provision of healthcare and housing for members of the armed forces. The UK Government is clear that both the UK and Scottish Governments must work together to implement the Armed Forces Covenant and support members of the armed forces based in Scotland.

Electoral Register: Young People

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of 16 and 17-year-olds registered to vote in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland.

David Mundell: As at 1 December 2011, the number of 16 and 17-year-olds on the parliamentary electoral register for the Glasgow North West constituency was 586. The figures for Glasgow and Scotland were 4,126 and 43,940 respectively.
	Information on the electoral register, including the number of attainers (16 and 17-year-olds), is published on the General Register Office for Scotland's website in late February each year. The information for the 2012 register, which was published on 1 December 2011, can be found using the following link:
	www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/electoral-stats/index.html

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Cleaning Services

Dan Rogerson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the House of Commons Commission will make it its policy to require all cleaning contracts held with the House of Commons stipulate that the cleaning products used and their ingredients should not have been tested on animals.

John Thurso: Our current cleaning contractor reports that suppliers of the cleaning products used on the Estate have policies under which they either avoid animal testing completely or encourage the use of non-animal testing where alternatives are available. Our current cleaning contractor is discussing proposals for the use of some British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) approved products on the Estate.
	So far as a broader House of Commons policy on cleaning products being tested on animals is concerned, the Department of Facilities will develop proposals which will be brought to Member Committees.
	If my hon. Friend has concerns, the Director of Accommodation and Logistics would be happy to discuss them with him.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Bovine Tuberculosis

Richard Drax: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions have been brought against people who have threatened farmers in the proposed badger cull areas since those areas were announced.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service centrally held records identify the number of offences of threatening behaviour, but do not show the occupations of victims. The information requested is therefore not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

TRANSPORT

A30

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet with representatives of Cornwall council's Transport Department and members of the Dual the A30 action group to discuss the A30 road between Temple and Higher Carblake in North Cornwall.

Stephen Hammond: The Department and the Highways Agency have worked closely with Cornwall county council on the case for improvements to the A30 in this location, and the Department is currently assessing the details of the business case submitted by Cornwall county council.
	I would be happy to meet with the hon. Member for North Cornwall and his colleagues to discuss the proposals.

London Midland

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has had with London Midland on the cancellation of London Midland train services due to a shortage of drivers.

Norman Baker: As of Wednesday 24 October, the Department has received one letter from a Member of Parliament, and three from members of the public on this issue.
	I initiated a telephone call with London Midland's Managing Director on Tuesday 23 October to discuss this matter, and officials are engaging with London Midland's management team on a daily basis to monitor progress towards a solution.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the scope of the Rural Payments Agency to exercise discretion when imposing penalties for breach of cross-compliance.

David Heath: The scope of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to exercise discretion in imposing penalties for breaches of cross-compliance is defined by EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) legislation. This allows the RPA to make decisions based on a number of factors, such as severity and permanence of a breach. Following the assessment made by the Macdonald Task Force, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Sir James Paice) agreed to explore how the system of penalties for breaches might be made more proportionate to the outcomes of the breach. Exploring whether there is scope for further discretion now forms part of negotiations relating to cross-compliance within the overall reform of the CAP currently under way.

Animals: Tuberculosis

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what international comparisons his Department has undertaken which have found examples of successful programmes for the eradication of tuberculosis in wildlife without a cull of wildlife being involved.

David Heath: We are not aware of any country in the world which has successfully controlled TB in cattle without addressing its presence in the wildlife population.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in the proposed badger cull areas have reported being threatened by animal extremist groups since the proposed cull was announced.

David Heath: I am aware of reports that some farmers have been threatened but we do not have information on numbers. Any threat will be taken seriously and should be reported to the police.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on continuation of the proposed cull of badgers.

David Heath: I remain committed to taking forward this evidence-based policy, as part of a wider programme for eradication of bovine TB in England. The Government and NFU will now continue to plan so that the pilots can go ahead in summer 2013.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been lodged by his Department with Natural England for contingency purposes in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Somerset.

David Heath: DEFRA has not lodged any sums with Natural England for contingency purposes.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the full contingency costs are for the planned badger cull which he has lodged with Natural England;
	(2)  whether his Department will pay for the badger cull if farmers do not complete it;
	(3)  what plans Ministers in his Department have put in place to ensure that the badger cull in pilot areas goes ahead for the full four planned years.

David Heath: Licensees and all participating farmers are required to enter into agreements which set out their obligations once a licence is granted and, if necessary and as a last resort, allow Government to intervene, access all participating land, take over responsibility for a culling operation, and recover the costs from the licensee and/or participants. It is for licence applicants to put in place arrangements to deposit sufficient funds in a reputable bank to cover the total cost of a four-year cull, plus a contingency sum of 25%. The funds must be managed in line with the requirements set out in the Badger Control Agreement, including the requirement to ensure that at all times the amount remaining in the account is sufficient to ensure that culling is carried out in accordance with the licence and the Badger Control Agreement.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to his Department's publication, The Government's policy on Bovine TB and badger control in England, 
	(1)  whether the anticipated 12 to 16 per cent reduction in cases of bovine tuberculosis in badger cull areas is (a) an absolute reduction in the incidence of bovine tuberculosis cases or (b) a reduction relative to the projected increase in bovine tuberculosis;
	(2)  against what baseline the Government expect to achieve a 12 to 16 per cent reduction in the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in those areas which are subject to badger culling.

David Heath: The results of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (based on an average of five years' culling plus a four-year post-cull period) can be used to estimate the effect of culling over an area of 150 km(2) and in the 2 km ring of unculled land surrounding it relative to a similar unculled area. This estimate depends on a range of factors, including the baseline incidence of TB in cattle inside the culled area and 2 km ring.
	The estimated average net benefit of 12.4% assumes a baseline incidence of 0.10 confirmed new incidents per km per annum inside and outside the culled area.
	The estimate of 16.0% assumes a baseline incidence of 0.15 confirmed new incidents per km per annum inside the culled area and 0.1 confirmed new incidents per km per annum outside the culled area in the 2 km surrounding ring.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what rate his Department estimates (a) bovine tuberculosis incidence in cattle has risen in the most recent period for which figures are available, (b) is currently rising and (c) is expected to rise in the next five years for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of bovine tuberculosis control measures.

David Heath: Official national statistics on the incidence of TB in cattle are published by DEFRA on a monthly basis. Detailed GB, regional and county statistics of Bovine tuberculosis, along with various other TB statistics are also available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/cattletb/
	The incidence rate is currently calculated as the number of herds where official TB free status has been withdrawn (OTFW), as a percentage of the number of tests on officially TB free (OTF) herds.
	The long-term trend shows a gradual increase in incidence over the past 16 years as shown in the statistics, although there is variation throughout this period.
	The latest statistics show a provisional incidence rate of 4.1% in Great Britain between January and July 2012. This compares to an incidence rate of around 2% during the mid to late 1990's.
	No estimates have been made of future incidence rates.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to measure the anticipated reduction in the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in badger culling areas against present or anticipated bovine tuberculosis levels (a) in that area or (b) in neighbouring areas.

David Heath: The badger control policy is being piloted to test our assumptions about the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of controlled shooting.
	We have strong evidence of the benefit from badger culling from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and these policy pilots are not a repeat scientific study. However we are funding a separate research project that will monitor cattle TB incidence in these areas, and look for any trends.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent report by Dr Andrew Conlan funded by his Department on the prevalence and spread of bovine tuberculosis in UK cattle herds.

David Heath: DEFRA funded this research because many cattle herds repeatedly suffer from outbreaks of bovine TB, and by continually developing our understanding of how the disease spreads within cattle herds, we can continue to improve measures to tackle this disease.
	The research shows that even if cattle tests could identify all infected cattle it would not stop herds repeatedly suffering from bovine TB in high incidence areas because of the high probability of re-infection from badgers and cattle movements. We need to tackle the spread of TB from all sources whether from badgers, cattle, or any hidden infection that remains in herds.

Cattle: Death

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the case for EU-level legislation to exclude bank holidays from the seven day requirement for notification of cattle deaths.

David Heath: There have been no EU-wide discussions to exclude bank holidays from the seven day requirement for notification of cattle deaths. The British Cattle Movement Service adopts a pragmatic approach to such matters.

Dogs: Breeding

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward new regulations to govern puppy farms.

David Heath: There are no proposals to introduce new measures governing the welfare of dogs in breeding establishments. The Government consider that the existing law on dog breeding and general animal welfare, coupled with the work of the Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding and representative bodies of the industry, provides appropriate protection for dogs in breeding establishments.

Hill Farming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average income of hill farmers was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The average income of hill farmers in each of the last three years is shown in the following table. This is based on data from farms in the Severely Disadvantaged Area, which is defined as land where agricultural production is severely restricted by soil, relief, aspect or climatic conditions.
	
		
			 Average farm business income(1), England 
			  All farm types (£/farm) 
			 March to February  
			 2009-10 34,200 
			 2010-11 29,900 
			 2011-12 37,100 
			 (1 )Farm business income represents the financial return to all unpaid labour (farmers and spouses, non-principal partners and their spouses and family workers) and on all their capital invested in the farm business, including land and buildings. For corporate businesses it represents the financial return on the shareholders capital invested in the farm business. Source: Farm Business Survey

Sky Lanterns

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 55W, on sky lanterns, when his Department will commission an independent study to examine the risks and impacts associated with sky lanterns; and how much money his Department has allocated to facilitate such a study.

David Heath: DEFRA proposes to work alongside the Welsh Government on a short study to examine the risks and impacts associated with sky lanterns and helium balloons. The study is currently in the pre-procurement phase and is expected to be formally commissioned before the end of the year with completion by the end of March 2013.
	The exact level of resources that will be allocated is not yet known, and will depend on the project proposals of the bidders who will make bids during the mini-procurement competition that we have to carry out.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Drugs: Imports

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many import licences were granted to parallel import companies for the importation of oxycodeine between 1 December 2011 and 30 April 2012; on what criteria such licences were issued; how many such licences were granted to (a) those who had previously held licences and (b) new applicants; and how many such licences were cancelled or suspended during the same period.

Jeremy Browne: There is not a known drug called oxycodeine; however oxycodone is an opoid analgesic. A total of 122 import authorisations were approved for shipments of oxycodone between 1 December 2011 and 30 April 2012. All licences were issued in accordance with published interim policy, including a proportion for ‘parallel import' purposes. Only companies previously granted licences for this purpose were issued further import authorisations during this period, and 37 licence applications were cancelled.

Drugs: Misuse

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the causes of recent trends in drug use; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) contains a self-completion module on self-reported use of illicit drugs which is the main source for estimates of levels of and trends in drug use in the household population. These questions are only asked of adults aged 16 to 59 residing in households in England and Wales. Data are published annually in the Home Office publication ‘Drug Misuse Declared':
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/drugs-misuse-dec-1112/
	The 2011-12 CSEW showed that the proportion of people taking any illicit drug in the last year was 8.9% down from a peak of 12.3% in the 2003-04 survey. This decrease is due in large part to a notable decline in cannabis use, from 10.8% in the 2003-04 survey to 6.9% in the 2011-12 survey.
	An assessment of the underlying causes of the decline in the use of drugs has not been made by the Home Office. The Secretary of State for the Home Department will not be making a statement on this.

Drugs: Misuse

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the conclusions of the UK Drugs Policy Commission on (a) the cost-effectiveness of public expenditure on tackling drug problems, (b) the strength of the evidence base for policies on law enforcement and education and (c) any link between drug use, inequality and social exclusion; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: I welcome publication by the UK Drugs Policy Commission (UKDPC) of their report “A Fresh Approach to Drugs: the Final Report of the UK Drug Policy Commission”. This is a useful contribution to the debate on drugs and I have asked the UKDPC to present their conclusions to Ministers at a future meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Drugs.
	The Government remains committed to using the best available evidence. We seek advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the ACMD's Recovery Committee and the Recovery Partnership to inform policy decisions. We will also be looking in more detail at the evidence base as part of the evaluation of the 2010 Drug Strategy.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax Benefits

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the cost to each local authority of council tax benefit in 2013 on the basis of the latest figures made available by local authorities to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Brandon Lewis: The implementation of localised council tax support schemes in England in April 2013 will require local councils to design their own schemes to administer council tax support, working within a framework set out in legislation. The cost of council tax support in 2013-14 in individual authorities will depend on the choices which those authorities make about how they design their local scheme.
	Forecasts of council tax benefit expenditure for England in 2013-14, which are published by the Department for Work and Pensions,
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/budget_2012_300712.xls
	are shown as follows. However, these estimates do not take into account the changes introduced by the localisation of council tax support, nor the introduction of universal credit.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Gross Council Tax Benefit Expenditure, England, 2013-14 3,806 
			 Of which:  
			 Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions 3,697 
			 Of which:  
			 Funded by other government departments or local authorities 108 
		
	
	The latest year for which council tax benefit expenditure by local authority is available is 2011-12 and this is published by the Department for Work and Pensions here:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/h_tables_budget_ 2012_300812.xls
	These figures are based on subsidy claim returns from local authorities to the Department of Work and Pensions.
	These reforms will give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people back into work. They will also contribute to the Government's deficit reduction programme. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit we have inherited from the last Administration, under which council tax benefit expenditure doubled.

Emergencies

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2012, Official Report, column 305W, on emergencies, what the cost of running the Resilience and Emergencies Division was in each of the last three years; and which Minister it answers to.

Brandon Lewis: I am the Minister for Fire and Resilience in the Department. Following the closure of the Government offices for the regions on 31 March 2011, the functions of the former regional resilience teams transferred to the Resilience and Emergencies Division in my Department. For the financial year 2011-12, the running costs (pay, and non-pay costs) of the division were £2,462,713.24. Office costs for the division, calculated on a pro-rata basis, were £133,584.
	For 2012-13 it is not possible to give the running cost for the division as budgets are not allocated at divisional level, but we expect costs will be broadly similar to last year.

Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the average cost of moving home in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 18 October 2012
	We do not collect official information on the costs of moving home. However, while these vary, we estimate that the cost of a solicitor or conveyancer, if a purchaser appoints one, typically start at around £400. This includes the cost of local authority searches, which are typically between £120 and £200, and also Land Registry fees which range from £50 to £550, depending on the value of the property. Some purchasers may also commission a survey at a cost of between £250 and £1,500 depending on the kind of survey, and the type and value of the property.
	Some house purchasers may also need to cover costs associated with obtaining a mortgage and, depending on the value of the property, stamp duty land tax. These are matters for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
	This Government has cut the cost of moving home by abolishing the requirement to commission a Home Information Pack. The red tape increased the cost of selling a home, deterring sellers from putting their homes on the market, and the packs were not trusted by buyers, so duplicating costs.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Brandon Lewis: When it is brought into force in January 2013, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 will require contracting authorities to consider the full social, environmental and economic value of public services procurements at the pre-procurement stage. Public procurers following best practice will already be considering these factors to ensure that their services are fit for purpose and represent value for money.
	The Department is reviewing its processes to ensure they are in line with the Act.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has been keen to encourage local government to improve its performance in relation to streamlining procurement practices and opening up procurement spend with small and medium sized enterprises, as well as voluntary and community groups. For example, local authorities can end the use of Pre-Qualification Questionnaires for contracts under the EU threshold of £173,000, and eliminate over-specification on equalities and health and safety.

Sleeping Rough

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the percentage increase in rough sleeping has been since the introduction of new counting estimates.

Mark Prisk: The last Government's methodology ignored the true scale of the problem of rough sleeping. So we acted decisively to introduce a more accurate assessment of rough sleeping levels. Figures can be found on my Department's website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/roughsleepingautumn2011
	Last year my Department also provided investment to roll out No Second Night Out—a new initiative which increases outreach, encourages greater reporting and public scrutiny, and ensures vulnerable rough sleepers get helped off the streets more quickly. And we recently funded the voluntary sector to launch StreetLink—a new website to enable members of the public to alert local agencies to rough sleepers in their area.
	I would add that we have maintained funding for Homelessness Grant at 2010-11 levels with £400 million over four years to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected Supporting People funding—at £6.5 billion over the spending review period—to help the most vulnerable.

Temporary Accommodation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 44W, on vulnerable adults, how many households were in temporary accommodation in other local authority district areas in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the top three locations are for each local authority.

Mark Prisk: As at 30 June, 8,080 households were in temporary accommodation within another local authority district, as shown in Live Table 775 at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/livetables/
	The Department does not collect information on the particular local authority areas within which such households were housed.
	The Localism Act 2011 will increase local authorities' ability to end the main homelessness duty by arranging an offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector. This will mean shorter waiting times for homeless households and less time spent in expensive temporary accommodation.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Nitrogen

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has received any reports of injuries caused by mixing liquid nitrogen in beverages; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Data on this particular cause of injury are not collected in such a way as to be separately identified.

Food: Diabetes

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will encourage the labelling of food products that would outline the nutritional value of cooked food for the benefit of people who have type 1 diabetes.

Daniel Poulter: The nutrients that can be declared on pre-packed food are defined in law. From 2016 all pre-packaged foods will be required to carry nutrition labelling on the back of the pack, including the energy value and the amounts of fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.
	The new EU Regulation 1169/2011 additionally allows that energy value only or energy value plus amounts of fat, saturates, sugars and salt may be voluntarily repeated on front of pack. We announced proposals for future United Kingdom arrangements on 24 October.
	The regulation does allow nutrition information to be provided on an ‘as consumed’, i.e. cooked basis, as long as the manufacturer gives full instructions as to how the food is prepared. We will be considering our approach to this with industry and other partners in the coming months.

Health Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether a GP whose list is not closed may refuse to register a patient on the grounds that they are an overseas visitor; what annual fee is paid to GPs in respect of each such patient; and what steps the NHS takes to determine whether an overseas visitor has left the UK to ensure that he or she is removed from a GP's list; [R]
	(2)  whether a GP may refuse to register a patient on the grounds that they are an illegal immigrant; [R]
	(3)  what steps the NHS takes to ensure that those who are entitled only to primary care are not also accorded free hospital treatment; and what estimate he has made of the number of overseas visitors and illegal immigrants who will register with a GP in each of the next three financial years.

Daniel Poulter: Anyone may approach a general practitioner (GP) practice and apply to join its list of national health service patients, normally by attending the practice premises. Under the terms of their contracts, GP practices have a measure of discretion in accepting or refusing applications to join their patient lists.
	A GP practice cannot turn down an applicant on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition. Other than that, GP practices can turn down an application if the primary care trust (PCT) has agreed that they can close their list to new patients, that an applicant lives outside the practice's boundary area or if they have other reasonable grounds.
	In applying to become a patient of a GP practice there is no formal requirement to prove identity or immigration status. However, there are practical reasons why a practice might need to be assured that someone is who they say they are. Consequently, it can help the process if a patient offers relevant documents. Many asylum seekers offer to show their Immigration Service issued ‘Application Registration Card’ (ARC) or official documents that confirm their status.
	One of the factors which determine the level of funding GP practices receive under their NHS contractual arrangements is the number of registered patients on their lists. Their global sum payments in respect of patients who are from overseas will not differ from that of other patients. For General Medical Services practices the average payment per weighed patient is £64.67 in 2012-13.
	Currently, the local PCT is responsible for establishing and maintaining an accurate list of NHS patients for the practices in its area. From April 2013, this responsibility for the whole of England will transfer to the NHS Commissioning Board.
	NHS GPs and hospitals have a duty to identify and charge all visitors that are chargeable for NHS hospital treatment, including those registered with, or referred by a GP. Entitlement to free NHS hospital treatment is based on ordinary residence in the United Kingdom or exemption from charges under regulations. The Department strongly recommends that NHS hospitals use baseline questioning and pre-attendance forms to indicate ordinary residence or exemption from charges and most have an overseas visitors manager to oversee this process.
	In recognition that the current rules are generous but also complex and therefore inconsistently applied by NHS staff, the Department has been undertaking a thorough review of charging overseas visitors for NHS care. This included how to establish more effective screening processes across the NHS to identify all of those who should be charged, so that charges are levied appropriately. The initial phase of the review has concluded and its findings are being considered.
	The Department has not made nor would be able to make any estimates of the number of overseas visitors or illegal immigrants in this country who may register with GP practices in each of the next three financial years.

Health Services: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the likely effects of regional pay in the NHS in England on recruitment and retention of NHS staff in Wales.

Daniel Poulter: No discussions have taken place.

Heart Diseases: Children

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the Joint Committee for Primary Care Trusts has met to consider the submission from the Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee for Yorkshire and the Humber to the Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Heart Surgery Services;
	(2)  if he will direct the Joint Committee for Primary Care Trusts to publish the minutes of its meeting on 14 December 2011;
	(3)  whether the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts is subject to the Code of Practice on Openness in the NHS in respect of disclosure of documents material to the decision on the future of children's heart surgery services in England and Wales;
	(4)  what the scores were from each assessor for each assessment criterion for each children's heart surgery centre awarded by the Independent Expert Panel as part of the Safe and Sustainable Review.

Anna Soubry: My hon. Friend will be aware that the Safe and Sustainable review of children's congenital heart services is a clinically-led, national health service review, which is independent of Government. It is, therefore, for the Joint Committee for Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) to decide what information to release regarding minutes of meetings held or details about the process of the review.
	The NHS Code of Practice on Openness was superseded by the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, which provided equivalent access to information but as a legal right rather than a voluntary code. The bodies that participated in the JCPCT are all public bodies subject to the FOI legislation. Any complaints about their compliance should be referred to the Information Commissioner, the statutory regulator for FOI and Data Protection legislation.
	We understand that the JCPCT considered the submission from the Joint Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee for Yorkshire and the Humber at its meeting, held in public, on 4 July 2012. It considers that the points raised by the scrutiny committee are addressed in the Decision Making Business Case which has been published.

Heart Diseases: Children

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) review of the Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Congenital Heart Services will be undertaken by a subgroup of the IRP; and what the membership will be of that subgroup.

Anna Soubry: This is a matter for the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP). As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has asked the IRP to undertake a review of the Safe and Sustainable Review of Children's Congenital Heart Services, it is now for the IRP, as an independent body, to determine how it will undertake its review.

Medical Records: Hereditary Diseases

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions are in place to allow the children of deceased adopted adults access to their biological grandparents' medical records in light of potentially genetic or hereditary conditions; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre provides the Hereditary Medical Conditions Service. This service is available to adopted persons or birth relatives of adopted persons. The service allows the confidential transfer of relevant medical information between general practitioners (GPs) of adopted persons and birth relatives.
	Provided the sought person can be identified from the information available, and is living, medical information about hereditary conditions may be passed between the GPs of the individuals involved, with the patient's consent. The transfer of any information is also subject to the consent of both GPs involved and the individuals must be currently registered with a GP in England, Wales or the Isle of Man.

NHS: Per Capita Costs

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of NHS primary care is for an adult patient.

Daniel Poulter: The average cost of national health service primary care in England for 2011-12 was £394 per patient.
	This figure was calculated by adding together the net costs spent on NHS primary medical care of £8,397 million, NHS dental care of £2,222 million, NHS pharmaceutical services including primary care drugs of £9,827 million and NHS eye care services of £491 million.
	The sum of £20,937 million was then divided by the population for England, which was 53,107,200 in mid-2011 according to the Office for National Statistics.
	It is not possible to provide the average cost for an adult patient, as it is not possible to disaggregate centrally the individual elements of primary care resources that have been consumed by adults and those consumed by children.

Palliative Care

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has asked the NHS Information Centre to develop an indicator relating to death in preferred place of care for inclusion in the Commissioning Outcomes Framework;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to ensure the Commissioning Outcomes Framework incentivises Clinical Commissioning Groups to commission high-quality services which give people the choice to die in their preferred place of care.

Daniel Poulter: It is for the NHS Commissioning, Board to decide on the content of the Commissioning Outcomes Framework. Recommendations to the NHS Commissioning Board for measures to consider for inclusion in the Commissioning Outcomes Framework were published by the National Institute for Heath and Clinical Excellence on 1 August 2012.
	The NHS Outcomes Framework includes an indicator on the quality of end of life care as it is experienced by patients and carers. This is based on the VOICES survey of bereaved relatives which allows us to understand how care differs between different settings and geographies as well as by different conditions.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of blood safety and sickle cell; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Sickle cell disease is a group of genetic blood disorders caused by a mutation of the haemoglobin gene, the most common of which is sickle cell anaemia. In this country, approximately 12,000 people have sickle cell anaemia. Around 25% of patients with sickle cell anaemia will require regular transfusions as part of their treatment, and it is essential that they receive suitably matched blood.
	The British Committee for Standards in Haematology’s (BCSH) “Guidelines for pre-transfusion compatibility procedures in blood transfusion laboratories” (2012) require more stringent procedures to ensure compatible blood is provided for sickle cell patients. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which provides blood to hospitals in England and North Wales, has in place a number of measures to maximise the availability of suitably typed blood for sickle cell patients. NHSBT is also evaluating new methods of improving the match between blood donor and recipient from the start of treatment, which would help people who have regular transfusions, such as those with sickle cell anaemia.
	The UK haemovigilance scheme SHOT (Serious Hazards of Transfusion) recorded 19 adverse events related to blood transfusion in 2011 for people with sickle cell disease, some of which might have been avoided by better communication of information, but some of which were unpredictable.
	New guidelines for transfusion in sickle cell and other haemoglobinopathy patients are currently being prepared by BCSH.
	NHSBT is working with the Sickle Cell Society, the patient organisation for sickle, on education and blood donor recruitment. An information leaflet on sickle cell covering screening, blood donation, patient support and receiving blood products is due to be ready for distribution by the end of 2012.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to raise awareness of sickle cell anaemia.

Anna Soubry: The Department has funded the National Health Service Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme since 2001 to develop and implement a linked antenatal and newborn screening programme. One of the aims of the programme is to raise awareness of the condition among the public and healthcare professionals. The profile of the condition continues to rise due to the success of the screening programme.
	The programme has been rolled out to engage the public in areas with a high prevalence of sickle cell. The programme has also experienced working with the public to develop materials to specifically engage men in the screening journey.

Smoking: Motor Vehicles

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the level of public support for legislation to ban smoking in private vehicles when children are present.

Anna Soubry: The Department has received details of a 2012 poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of Action on Smoking and Health, which found that 80% of all adults and 65% of smokers support a ban on smoking in cars with children under 18.

TREASURY

Banks: Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has any plans to review the pay and bonuses of those working in publicly-owned banks; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government's shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) are managed on a commercial and arm's length basis by UK Financial Investment Ltd (UKFI).
	UKFI's overarching objective is to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder, paying due regard to financial stability and to acting in a way that promotes competition.
	As an engaged shareholder, UKFI works closely with the banks' management to assure itself of the banks' approach to strategy and to hold management rigorously to account for performance. However, UKFI's role is to manage the investment, not to manage the bank; the bank retains its own independent board and management team for strategic and operational decision-making. Within this overarching shareholder framework, management decisions are for the bank itself without interference from shareholders, including UKFI.

Business: Scotland

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of trends in (a) net and (b) gross lending by banks to (i) small and medium-sized businesses and (ii) other non-financial corporations in Scotland in each of the last eight quarters.

Greg Clark: The Government do not collect data on the lending to non-financial corporations by region. The BBA publishes an enhanced SME lending dataset that would include a regional breakdown. The first dataset was published on 20 March 2012 and is being published on a quarterly basis. This data can be found on the BBA website:
	http://www.bba.org.uk/statistics/article/banks-support-for-smes-july-to-december-2011
	In June the Scottish Government also produced their SME Access to Finance report which can be found:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00396501.pdf

Capital Allowances

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) the north-east claimed capital allowances for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many such companies were small and medium-sized enterprises.

Sajid Javid: The figures provided in the following table show the number of companies claiming any form of capital allowance for the accounting periods ending in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 (the latest information available from the HMRC's tax returns and assessments data). The figures for England and the north-east are based on the location of the companies' registered office. This may be different to the location of the expenditure against which the capital allowance is claimed.
	
		
			 Number of companies claiming capital allowances for UK and those with a registered office in England and the north-east 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 UK (all) 937,000 923,000 901,000 
			 UK (small and medium-sized companies) 930,000 917,000 894,000 
			     
			 England (all) 839,000 827,000^ 806,000 
			 England (small and medium-sized companies) 833,000 821,000 800,000 
			     
			 North-east (all) 23,000 22,000 22,000 
			 North-east (small and medium-sized companies) 23,000 22,000 22,000 
			 Notes: 1. For the purpose of allocating a company to a country/region, the postcode of the company's registered office has been used. Note that this may not relate to where all of a company's expenditure or trading activity takes place. 2. UK totals include a small proportion of companies whose postcodes are unknown. The amount of companies assigned to England and the north-east include a small amount of unknown postcodes (where the postcode is unknown, the companies have been given the same distribution across the regions as where the data are complete). 3. For the purpose of this analysis, a small or medium-sized enterprise has been defined as having a turnover of less than or equal to 50 million Euros in their accounting period (appropriate exchange rates have been used for each year). 4. Figures are based on companies only and exclude unincorporated businesses. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Capital Gains Tax

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) the North East paid each rate of capital gains tax for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many such companies were small and medium-sized enterprises.

David Gauke: Companies do not pay ‘capital gains tax' on their realised gains, rather, these are subject to the same rates of corporation tax as other streams of income. These are charged at either the main rate or the small profits rate as appropriate.
	It is also difficult in most cases to split the streams of income that corporation tax is comprised of below UK level. Given this, it is very unlikely likely that it would be possible to produce robust estimates of any CT effectively paid on capital gains at regional level.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to extend and increase the landlord's energy saving allowance to encourage early improvements to the private rented sector before the introduction of the minimum energy efficiency standard in 2018.

Sajid Javid: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my response to the same question from the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson), of 19 October 2012, Official Report, columns 543-44W.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for which 50 companies the cost to HM Revenue and Customs of support claimed for research and development tax credits was greatest in each year from 2000-01 to date; and what the cost was of the support provided to each such company in each such year.

Sajid Javid: HM Revenue and Customs are unable to disclose information on the 50 companies that received the highest amounts in Research and Development Tax credit as this would be a breach of HM Revenue and Customs' duty of confidentiality.
	The cost of the research and development (R and D) tax credits in respect of the 50 companies with the highest amount of support for 2002-03 to 2010-11 is as follows:
	
		
			 Cost of support for the 50 companies receiving the greatest amount of support, 2002-03 to 2010-11 
			  £ million 
			 2002-03 170 
			 2003-04 260 
			 2004-05 290 
			 2005-06 310 
			 2006-07 320 
			 2007-08 350 
			 2008-09 470 
			 2009-10 390 
			 2010-11 410 
			 Notes: 1. Estimates of the cost of the support claimed are rounded to the nearest £10 million. 2. The claims are not from the same companies each year. 3. The figures are based on claims made for R&D Tax credits. The ranking of the claimants will not be the same as that published in the BIS R&D scorecard listing the top UK and Global Economies by R&D investment which uses published accounts figures. Some of the R&D expenditure reported in the R&D scorecard would not be eligible for tax credit. 
		
	
	The figures are based on Small Medium Enterprises and Large Companies' claims. Figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are not provided because R&D tax credits only extended to large companies from 2002-03.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2012, Official Report, column 371W, on research and development tax credit, what proportion of the total research and development tax credit goes to the 10 companies receiving the highest number of such tax credits.

Sajid Javid: The table shows the proportion of the total amount of research and development tax credits that goes to the 10 companies receiving the highest amount of support.
	
		
			 Top 10 claims (in value terms) as a proportion of total claims per year 
			  Percentage 
			 2008-09 29 
			 2009-10 22 
			 2010-11 19 
			 Notes: 1. The top claims are not from the same companies every year. 2. The figures arc based on claims made for R&D tax credits. The ranking of the top claimants will not be the same as that published in the BIS R&D store card listing the top UK and Global Economies by R&D investment which uses published accounts figures. Some of the R&D expenditure reported in the R&D score card would not be eligible for tax credit.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received in relation to Atos Healthcare and (a) data protection and (b) transparency.

Mark Hoban: Unfortunately it is not possible to state how many complaints received were related to (a) data protection and (b) transparency as these are not a categories that are used.
	To provide a response to this question would involve the undertaking of a detailed review of all these cases to ascertain how many of the complaints were related to data protection or transparency and exceed the disproportionate cost limit of £800 for parliamentary questions.
	All customer complaints received are taken seriously and are properly investigated prior to a response being issued.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of including additional cancer patients in the support group for employment and support allowance.

Mark Hoban: The estimated additional cost to ESA for the financial year 2012-13 is £350,000.
	Subsequent years' estimates are:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2013-14 400,000 
			 2014-15 300,000 
			 2015-16 200,000

Employment Schemes: Young People

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps his Department has taken to assist 16 to 24-year-olds in Coventry to secure employment.

Mark Hoban: The Youth Contract, introduced in April 2012, will provide nearly half-a-million new opportunities to young unemployed people over the next three years. For 18 to 24-year-olds, it will provide wage incentives and additional work experience places. For 16 to 24-year-olds, it will provide additional Apprenticeship Grants for Employers.
	In addition, £126 million has been made available to the Department for Education through the Youth Contract to support some of the most disengaged 16 and 17-year-olds in England who are not in education, employment and training into sustained learning, an apprenticeship or job with training.
	The Youth Contract builds on existing support available through Jobcentre Plus and the Work programme, enabling young unemployed people to look for work, gain work experience and skills, and find real, lasting jobs.

Mental Health Function Champions

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 20 December 2011, Official Report, columns 1081W, on Atos Healthcare, how many Mental Health Function Champions are employed by Atos Healthcare for the purposes of the work capability assessment in (a) total and (b) each region.

Mark Hoban: Sixty mental health function champions are employed by Atos Healthcare for the DWP contract and five for Northern Ireland.
	For the DWP contract these are distributed as follows:
	North: 21
	Scotland: 8
	South and Wales: 16
	Midlands and London: 15.
	The mental health function champions provide a telephone service to all health care professionals regardless of location. This approach was endorsed by Professor Harrington as the best way to maintain geographical support.

Postal Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to the Royal Mail on the processing of pre-addressed mail to (a) his Department and (b) Atos.

Mark Hoban: Post opening forms part of a DWP contract with Balfour Beatty Workplace for office services which is delivered by Royal Mail as sub contractor.
	The following guidance has been issued for both pre-address mail to Department for Work and Pensions and Atos.
	(a) Mail Opening Operating Manual.
	(b) Mail Opening Scanning Operations Guide.
	(c) Post Opening Agreement—Receiving and Handling post.
	(d) List of Mail Opening Units that are able to handle post on behalf of Atos.
	The guidance contains commercial in confidence information.

Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Mark Hoban: The Department has already taken a number of steps that address the social, economic and environmental factors required to ensure sustainable procurement is a fundamental approach in DWP Commercial activities and which also supports the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.These steps include requirements, where relevant and appropriate, in the contractual specifications and contract performance conditions that suppliers to the Department are required to meet. These relate to environmental issues, diversity and equality issues and use of apprenticeships in supply chains and are included in specific contract clauses and schedules that are subject to ongoing review with suppliers. These requirements will be reviewed and built on further as Cabinet Office (ERG) instructions and guidance are provided on the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, to ensure consistency and adherence in approach to other Cabinet Office policy areas and targets.

Research

Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what external policy research his Department has commissioned in each of the last six years; which organisation was commissioned to provide each such piece of research; and what the cost of each such piece of research was.

Mark Hoban: All the external research commissioned by DWP since November 2006 is listed in a table which will be placed in the Library. Please note these projects include all external social and economic research and analysis commissioned and not just policy research.

Reserve Forces

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many reservists are employed by his Department.

Mark Hoban: The Department actively encourages Reservists and supported MOD in its recent publicity drive to promote the benefits of joining the Reserve Forces.
	We currently do not collect data on the number of reservists employed by DWP.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date he expects the first award of universal credit to be made in a case where, under the current system, the applicant would receive (a) tax credits, (b) employment and support allowance and (c) income support.

Mark Hoban: The universal credit migration approach published on 1 November 2011 set out how DWP will start to take new claims for universal credit from October 2013 and that new claims for the current benefits and credits will gradually be phased out. Work continues to develop the precise timing and detail of how this will work.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of people who will be in receipt of universal credit on 1 January (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Mark Hoban: There never have been any plans for anyone to be in receipt of universal credit on 1 January 2013. UC will be launched in October 2013 with the UC Pathfinder launching in April 2013. In subsequent years the number of people in receipt of universal credit will depend on the detailed rules for managing the build-up of the caseload. These rules are currently under development.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the treatment of outgoings incurred in the course of self-employment in the calculation of universal credit.

Mark Hoban: The income taken as the claimant's earnings from self-employment for the purposes of the universal credit award calculation would be the balance of cash in minus cash out.
	The items that can be deducted as “cash out” are business expenses which have been incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the self-employed activity. Guidance will outline what items are considered as “cash out”, for example:
	regular business costs (e.g. rent, wages, operating leases);
	stock purchased for business;
	expenses (e.g. electricity, phone, business travel);
	allowable one-off costs (e.g. capital expenditure, finance leases);
	income tax payments;
	national insurance contributions; and,
	personal pension contributions.

Universal Credit

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether universal credit remains on budget.

Mark Hoban: Yes, universal credit continues to remain within the budgets set aside for the programme.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the level of transparency in the work capability assessment process.

Mark Hoban: The work capability assessment (WCA) is subject to an ongoing process of review, evaluation and refinement. As part of this continuous improvement, the Welfare Reform Act 2007 (which created the WCA) contains a requirement for an annual independent review of the WCA for the first five years of operation.
	Professor Malcolm Harrington has now carried out two independent reviews of the WCA, both of which have been published, and is currently taking forward his third annual review.
	In addition a Department-led review of the work capability assessment was published in March 2010. The review made a number of recommendations for improving the assessment and these changes were implemented in March 2011.

Work Capability Assessment

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work capability assessments Atos Healthcare undertook in the homes of claimants in each month in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: In the period January 2011 to September 2012 there has been a total of 14,443 work capability assessments (employment and support allowance and IB reassessment) completed in the homes of claimants.
	The month by month breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			 2011 
			  Number 
			 January 563 
			 February 534 
			 March 904 
			 April 632 
			 May 666 
			 June 606 
			 July 565 
			 August 591 
			 September 739 
			 October 659 
			 November 755 
			 December 482 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 
			  Number 
			 January 663 
			 February 655 
			 March 865 
			 April 596 
			 May 895 
			 June 784 
			 July 785 
			 August 739 
			 September 765

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of employment and support allowance he expects to be referred to the Work programme in each of the next 12 months.

Mark Hoban: We publish annual Work programme attachment volumes twice yearly in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasting cycle. The latest ESA volumes were published in December 2011, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			 Estimated number of Work programme attachments for ESA customers, December 2011 forecasts, national level 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 ESA volunteer 10,000 46,000 32,000 19,000 12,000 
			 ESA flow 46,000 75,000 73,000 71,000 69,000 
		
	
	
		
			 ESA ex-IB 12,000 33,000 39,000 24,000 5,000 
			 TOTAL 68,000 155,000 144,000 114,000 87,000 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000. Totals may not add up to the sum of the column due to rounding. 
		
	
	These forecasts do not take into account recent policy changes to widen eligibility of ESA claimants able to access the Work programme. The next ESA volumes forecast is due to be released in late autumn 2012.
	The volumes are given to providers as indicative and not guaranteed. Providers are encouraged to work with local partners and use official data sources to undertake their own modelling and impact specific local circumstances.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what sanitation projects her Department funds in Burma; and what funds were provided for such projects in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not fund specific sanitation projects in Burma. Some small amounts of funding have gone towards sanitation issues through wider projects, such as through our education portfolio, where DFID funds have helped to build latrines in schools and pre-schools and ensure basic hygiene practices are taught. DFID's response for immediate needs following Cyclone Giri also provided 66,000 people with access to clean water. DFID's work in the health sector is primarily focused around reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services as well as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria services.

Burma

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of levels of malnutrition of internally displaced children in Karen State, Shan State and Karenni State in Burma.

Alan Duncan: The Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) have measured acute malnutrition (or wasting) levels among internally displaced children in South-East Burma. Their 2010-11 survey of 1,670 internally displaced children in South-East Burma found moderate and severe wasting of 4.7% of those surveyed and mild wasting of 15.6%. The survey does not disaggregate findings between states within South-East Burma.

Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the new Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability methodology will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The UK Government have produced a new methodology for undertaking joint analyses of conflict and stability. This analysis will help to identify the key drivers of conflict, as well as the potential actions that would be most likely to succeed within fragile and conflict-affected states. The methodology has been approved by the Building Stability Overseas Board pending minor amendments. It will be publicly available in November.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Foreign Students

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate the British Council has made of the number of students from universities in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the north-west of England who have participated in (i) the Erasmus Programme and (ii) the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience programmes in each year for which figures are available.

Hugo Swire: Data for the numbers of students participating in the Erasmus programme and the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) programme attending universities in Greater Manchester and the north-west of England are given in the following tables. The tables cover the period from the 2007-08 academic year, when the British Council first started administering the Erasmus scheme, through to 2011-12.
	
		
			  Greater Manchester North-west of England 
			  Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE 
			 2007-08 770 9 1,191 10 
			 2008-09 735 3 1,191 7 
			 2009-10 806 1 1,297 5 
			 2010-11 812 1 1,381 4 
			 2011-12 772 2 1,365 4 
		
	
	
		
			 (a) Greater Manchester 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			  Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE 
			 University of Bolton 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 
			 University of Manchester 422 9 402 3 476 1 439 1 392 1 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University 169 0 204 0 158 0 205 0 181 1 
			 University of Salford 178 0 128 0 171 0 168 0 197 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 770 9 735 3 806 1 812 1 772 2 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) North-west of England 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			  Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE Erasmus IAESTE 
			 Blackburn College 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O 0 
			 Blackpool and the Fylde College 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 
			 The University of Bolton 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 
			 University of Chester 43 0 38 0 53 0 65 0 73 0 
			 Lancaster University 83 0 124 2 132 3 136 0 151 2 
			 University of Cumbria 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 University of Liverpool 171 1 189 2 182 1 236 3 211 0 
			 Liverpool John Moores University 56 0 44 0 46 0 69 0 63 0 
			 Liverpool Hope University 4 0 7 0 14 0 21 0 28 0. 
			 University of Manchester 422 9 402 3 476 1 439 1 392 1 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University 169 0 204 0 158 0 205 0 181 1 
			 Royal Northern College of Music 6 0 2 0 3 0 4 0 6 0 
			 Edge Hill University 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 
			 University of Central Lancashire 58 0 48 0 60 0 37 0 55 0 
			 Preston College 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University of Salford 178 0 128 0 171 0 168 0 197 0 
			 Stockport College of Further and Higher Education 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 1,191 10 1,191 7 1,297 5 1,381 4 1,365 4

Georgia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the UK's relationship with Georgia; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The UK and Georgia have long enjoyed a strong bilateral relationship. We work together on a number of areas of common interest including security, democratisation and trade. The UK looks forward to working with the newly-elected Government of Georgia and supporting Georgia's further democratisation and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Georgia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials from his Department are currently stationed in Georgia.

David Lidington: The UK has an active and engaged embassy in Georgia, with a mix of approximately 50 UK-based and locally employed staff.

Georgia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the recent elections in Georgia; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) made a preliminary statement on 2 October which noted that the Georgian parliamentary elections were largely free and fair, although certain key issues remained to be addressed. ODIHR plan to issue a comprehensive report, which will include recommendations, in December 2012. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made a statement on 3 October which welcomed ODIHR's preliminary assessment and which noted that the elections marked a significant step forward in Georgia's democratic development.

Iran

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made (a) directly or (b) through international agencies concerning 14 executions in the week starting the 8 October at Tabriz, Shiraz and Zahedan prisons in Iran and 12 further scheduled executions imminent at Ghezel Hesar Prison.

Alistair Burt: We frequently condemn Iran's use of the death penalty, most recently in an online campaign to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October 2012 in Farsi and English. On 24 August 2012, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs issued a statement condemning recent death sentences in Iran, as well as the regime's overall human rights record. Additionally on 24 October 2012 I issued a statement condemning the execution of 10 people in Iran on 22 October on drugs charges. We are pressing Iran to address international concerns over its use of the death penalty both through the EU and the UN General Assembly. In the UN General Assembly this autumn the UK will support the annual resolution on human rights in Iran and reiterate its strong support for the work of the UN Special Rapporteur, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, whose latest report details many areas of concern about Iran's use of the death penalty.